Monday, January 23, 2012

Christmas in the Country

After church on Christmas, we drove out to my parent's house to celebrate Christmas with my family. The boys love going here because there is so much outdoor space and so much to discover! Before we sat down to open gifts, I wanted to take a picture of the boys in their matching train sweaters (which, by the way, they wore last year too).
I took maybe a dozen pictures. This is the best I could get. They just wouldn't look at the camera at the same time. Even when I said "please." A group picture with Oma and Grandpa.
Another one with Mom and Dad.
And you can't leave out Uncle Michael and Aunt Robin!
Grayson got a few train sets (so that he would have a few sets of his very own). However, Grant did not get that memo. Grant still played with them like they were his. But this has worked out now that we got everything home. Little G has his own train sets and gets to use them on his very own (sometimes)!
Grant and Grayson both got three wheelers from Oma and Grandpa. They spent forever racing them down the driveway and back. So much fun to watch!
Grayson playing with some new wipe boards. We use these during "quiet" time nearly every day. Both boys enjoy sitting and coloring for *minutes* on end! :)
Grant and Uncle Michael playing with Grant's first set of Lincoln Logs... oh, wait! You mean Uncle Michael is the only one playing with them?! Hmmmm. Actually, Grant loves them! He just needs a little help yet! :)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Family Fun, Christmas Style

We had a lot of great family time over the break this year. It was very relaxed and we took each day as it came. Gary and I both felt like we just got to focus on being a family. Grant was excited this year for Christmas. He knew it was approaching and enjoyed all the extra activities and traditions we were able to do.
The Friday before Christmas we went to meet Santa. We've never had a picture taken with Santa before (except with our church Santa). I've never wanted to wait in the long lines and I'm just not a big "Santa" person anyway. I know... what's wrong with me? But Grant loved it this year. He asked Santa for a "long, blue train" and was glad when he delivered! Grayson (not to our surprise) was scared and I didn't want to force him to sit on Santa's lap just so I could get a picture of him screaming. Christmas Eve we decided to make some reindeer pancakes. Both boys helped mix the dough and put together our creations! They loved this little twist to breakfast and I think I'd like to do this every year. Thanks to my new friend, Pinterest, I found pictures of reindeer, santa and snowman pancakes. So we might try a different design next year!
Grayson loves sweets so the nose was the first thing to go, but he also LOVES bacon. Drives Gary and I crazy though... he gobbles up the bacon and then leaves it in his mouth for the next hour or so when we eventually make him spit it out. I guess he just loves that bacon flavor... I hope he doesn't chew tobacco when he gets older. Ewwww.
Our final product! Bring on the reindeer!
That evening, we went to ride the Christmas Train. A local church puts it together every year and the boys loved it! We loved how they weaved the story of Christmas into each display. They even have live music, hot chocolate, pizza and tons of opportunities for photos.
We're ready to board the train!
Christmas morning we woke up to our sweet little tree. I loved having the Christmas tree up this year and was sad when we took it down. It just added so much fun to our living room! The boys loved looking at the lights and the ornaments and I loved that it filled that space against the wall that I never know what to do with!
Santa's gifts were hiding behind the couch because we knew if the boys saw those first it would be hard to amke them concentrate on anything else! Each boy had a few gifts under the tree that I think they really enjoyed, but the real gifts were waiting to be used...
He LOVED it and was riding like a pro in no time!!!
Grayson loved his too, but his little legs are still just a bit short. We pushed him around the driveway and listened to him laugh. After a short bike ride, we packed our bags for Oma and Grandpa's and headed to church!

Friday, January 6, 2012

2011: A Year of Cell Phone Pictures

As I was browsing the pictures on my phone the other day, I realized how much I loved looking at those pictures. I don't always have my camera with me. It's not always convenient. And sometimes I just forget or the battery dies. My cell phone seems to capture more of those day to day moments because it is just always with me. After looking at a few, I also realized that my boys GREW UP in these pictures. So I felt that I needed to capture that movement of time here.
January 4, 2011 January 12, 2011 February 12, 2011
February 13 , 2011
February 13, 2011
March 9, 2011
March 18, 2011
March 21, 2011
March 29, 2011
March 30, 2011
April 8, 2011
April 12, 2011
April 18, 2011
May 12, 2011
May 23, 2011
May 27, 2011
May 28, 2011
June 5, 2011
June 10, 2011
June 14, 2011
June 16, 2011
June 25, 2011
June 28, 2011
June 28, 2011
June 29, 2011
June 29, 2011
August 4, 2011
August 25, 2011
September 3, 2011
Septmeber 12, 2011
October 12, 2011
October 14, 2011
October 30, 2011
November 4, 2011
November 30, 2011
December 18, 2011
December 19, 2011
December 22, 2011
December 25, 2011